Case Name :      Purchasing Co-op

Authors :           Larry Menor, James A. Erskine, Michiel R. Leenders

Source :             Ivey Publishing

Case ID :            W00329

Discipline :        Operations Management

Case Length :    04 pages

Solution Sample availability : YES

Plagiarism : NO (100% Original work)

One of the founders of a small business owners’ purchasing cooperative organized four months earlier, was reflecting on its successful performance. The members of the co-op were willing to share responsibilities in the management of the co-op’s primary activities of obtaining price quotes, invoicing members, and making delivery arrangements. The members were currently considering the possibility of extending the types of materials purchased collaboratively to services such as photocopying and printing of brochures and business cards. She wondered how best to promote the growth of the purchasing co-op and therefore, needed to create an action and implementation plan, considering: membership size, types of products and services purchased, qualitative and quantitative benefits of co-op involvement, vendor management and allocation of resources.